News
New anti-terror law opposed by social media collective
Collective for Social Media Declaration (CSMD) has strongly opposed the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, No. of 2026 (PSTA).
The following is the text of the statement issued by Sampath Samarakoon on behalf of CSMD: “The Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, No. of 2026 (PSTA) presents itself as an improvement on the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). This framing obscures the reality that its core architecture, including administrative detention, military powers, proscription regimes, and broad speech offences, replicates the essential features that made the PTA objectionable for over four decades.
The Bill replicates the fundamental architecture that made the PTA objectionable. Rather than using the ordinary criminal law regime for terrorism offences alongside emergency powers when genuinely required, the PSTA creates parallel criminal jurisdictions with reduced safeguards and expanded executive authority. Its scheme maintains extraordinary arrest and detention powers, grants the Attorney General potentially coercive mechanisms to compel admissions without trial, and empowers the President, senior police officers, and the Defence Secretary to issue proscription orders, restriction orders, curfews, and prohibited place declarations with limited judicial oversight. As the title suggests, the Bill’s fundamental purpose is to protect the state rather than to protect civilians from violence, a framing that offers little resistance to treating public dissent, political disruption, and threats to political power as terrorism in themselves. Though the Bill includes carve-outs for protest and industrial action, these sit in tension with other provisions and may prove ineffective in practice.
Section 78 defines “confidential information” so broadly that it could capture online content, and social media posts documenting military checkpoints, photographs of army deployments during civilian protests, or tweets noting the presence of intelligence personnel at public events. Tamil civil society organisations, and activists documenting enduring militarisation in their communities face particular exposure. Section 15 criminalises failure to report information about terrorism offences with penalties of up to seven years imprisonment, placing journalists, lawyers, doctors, and religious figures in impossible positions where professional ethics conflict with criminal liability. This provision effectively conscripts recipients of information as state informants, creating a chilling effect on communication without requiring any technical interception.
Journalists, civil society activists, and ordinary social media users face particular exposure under this Bill. The predictable consequence is self-censorship driven by fear rather than any genuine security benefit. The Bill’s extended detention provisions, which permit up to two years of combined remand and detention without charge, provide a repressive mechanism for silencing dissent. Meanwhile, the surveillance and decryption powers granted under sections 53 and 55 threaten to eliminate private digital communication entirely, depriving citizens of secure channels for democratic dialogue and exposing them to monitoring that bears no reasonable relationship to legitimate counter-terrorism objectives.
We want to particularly stress the Bill’s impact on privileged, and encrypted communications, that go far beyond the PTA. Section 55 grants magistrates authority to order the unlocking of encrypted communications, yet assumes technical capability that simply does not exist with genuine end-to-end encryption (E2EE) systems. The extension of police powers to military personnel under section 19 creates a 24-hour window before handover to civilian authorities during which device contents could be accessed without procedural safeguards. Given documented patterns of abuse during military detention, including custodial torture, particularly affecting Tamil communities, the risk of coerced access to encrypted communications is not theoretical.
National security cannot serve as a blank cheque to erode democratic values. We urge the government to withdraw this Bill, engage in meaningful consultation with civil society, and affected communities, and develop fit-for-purpose legislation that meets international human rights standards while addressing legitimate national, and human security concerns.”
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasized that addressing the drug issue in the country must be treated as a national priority, highlighting that it must deliver results at the ground level.
A meeting to brief the Prime Minister on the National Strategic Plan for the Management, Treatment and Rehabilitation of Persons with Substance Use Disorders (SUD) 2026–2030 was held with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Health and Mass Media and other key stakeholders on 13th of March at the Temple Trees.
The discussion focused on the proposed national strategy developed to address the growing health, social and economic challenges associated with substance use disorders in Sri Lanka. The strategic plan aims to strengthen prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and reintegration services through a coordinated and evidence-based national approach.
During the meeting, attention was drawn to existing gaps in early identification of substance use disorders, continuity of care, community-based follow-up and reintegration of recovering individuals into society. The plan proposes several key interventions, including strengthening screening and symptomatic treatment at primary healthcare and outpatient levels, improving hospital-based treatment and follow-up services, expanding residential rehabilitation facilities, and enhancing community-based rehabilitation and relapse prevention programmes.
Special emphasis has also been placed on providing targeted support for vulnerable groups, including children and adolescents, pregnant women, mothers with children and prison inmates.
Speaking on the importance of strengthening the national response to drug issues, the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya noted that the drug menace has evolved into a serious social crisis that threatens social stability and security of families and the nation as a whole highlighting that law enforcement and rehabilitation in this regard must be given equal priority.
The Prime Minister further underscored the importance of including public awareness initiatives and responsible media reporting as key components of the national strategy.
The meeting was attended by the Secretary to the Prime Minister Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. Anil Jasinghe, officials from the Department of Prisons, Bureau of Rehabilitation, Sri Lanka Police Ministry of health, Ministry of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Ministry of Justice and National Integration ,Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and other relevant department and ministries.
[Prime minister’s Media Division]
In light of the prevailing geopolitical developments in Middle East, the petroleum product supply chain has been adversely affected. At the same time, the demand for fuel has increased abnormally, resulting in a depletion of the country’s existing fuel stock. Therefore, it has become necessary to carefully manage the available fuel reserves in order to sustain the nation’s economic activities.
Furthermore, it has recently been observed that certain groups have been illegally purchasing fuel in excessive quantities. The Government of Sri Lanka intends to prevent such improper consumption and ensure an uninterrupted fuel supply for the day-to-day needs and economic activities of the general public.
Accordingly, a QR code system will be implemented with effect from 06.00 a.m. on 15.03.2026.
Fuel will not be issued by any operating filling station in the country without a valid QR code from 06.00 a.m. on 15.03.2026.
Steps to Obtain the QR Code
- Users who have already registered for the QR Code
- Users whose vehicle ownership and registered mobile number remain unchanged since their initial registration may download their QR Code from the website https://fuelpass.gov.lk/ starting from midnight on 14.03.2026, using the ‘Vehicle Login’ button.
- Users whose vehicle ownership or registered mobile number has changed since their last registration are required to re-register their details through the website https://fuelpass.gov.lk/ starting from 6.00 a.m. on 15.03.2026, using the ‘Vehicle Registration’ button.
- Users who have not previously registered for the QR Code and users with newly registered vehicles at
the RMV - Registration can be completed starting from 06.00 a.m. on 15.03.2026 through the
website https://fuelpass.gov.lk/, using the ‘Vehicle Registration’ button.
The number of litres allocated for each category of vehicle is stated below.
A special fuel issuance system will be implemented for vehicles required to support national production and essential services.
| Vehicle Class | Capacity control volume for fuel pass
(L) |
| Buses | 60 |
| Motor cycle | 5 |
| Van | 40 |
| Motor car | 15 |
| Motor Lorry | 200 |
| Land Vehicles | 25 |
| Three Wheeler | 15 |
| Special Purpose Vehicle | 40 |
| Quadricycle | 5 |
[Sri Lanka Transport Board will issue fuel to the private buses].
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) on Friday said the largest groundwater source discovered in Sri Lanka so far had been identified during tube-well drilling near the Pitabeddara Police Station.
Indrajith Gamage, geologist in charge of the Southern Province, said the source recorded a continuous flow of about 10,000 litres (10 cubic metres) per minute, marking the first instance in the country where a groundwater source of that magnitude had been found.
He noted that the previous largest groundwater source was discovered in the Madhu area, which recorded a flow of about 7,000 litres per minute.
According to the NWSDB, the tube well was drilled following geological studies of rock layers and the identification of underground water through fractures in rock strata using specialised technical instruments.
The Board said steps would be taken to distribute water from the newly discovered source to residents facing shortages in Pitabeddara, Morawaka and surrounding areas.
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Addressing the drug issue in the country must be treated as a national priority – PM
QR code system will be implemented for fuel with effect from 06.00 a.m. today (15th)
Showers will occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Mannar and Anuradhapura districts after 2.00 pm.
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